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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. branch — a division
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. saw — the tool
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. last — final
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com